Slashdot Mirror
Court Says You Can Copyright a Cease-And-Desist Letter
TechDirt has a follow up to a case they covered back in October where a law firm was trying to claim a copyright on the cease-and-desist letters they sent out. Public Citizen poked a number of holes in this claim and invited the lawyers to "try it." Well, unfortunately the lawyers decided to bite and what's more, they actually got a judge to buy it. The news was announced by the victorious lawyer who now claims he can sue anytime someone posts one of his cease-and-desist letters. "The copyrighting of cease-and-desist letters is an easy way for law firms to bully small companies who have committed no wrong, but who have no real recourse to fight back against an attempt to shut them up via legal threat. Until today, many companies who were being unfairly attacked by companies and law firms misusing cease-and-desist letters to prevent opinions from being stated, had a reasonable recourse to such attacks, and could draw attention to law firms that used such bullying tactics to mute any criticism."
You will both be hearing from my legal team, as I have in fact already copyrighted both first and second posts. Oddly enough, we skipped 3 and went straight to 5.
Mod parent +1 Inciteful.
As an aficionado and longtime aesthetic critic of the cease-and-desist oeuvre, I have only a few moments to offer my review of this stirring and emotionally riveting form of creative mastery.
In the work's opening, we are introduced to the main characters, along with two settings (Virginia and Arizona) and a modern time period to help orient the reader. I was particular moved by the bold, overly-large font that portrayed (to your humble reviewer) the confidence and professionalism of our protagonist, especially when contrasted with the smaller left-justified (bravo!) intro that followed (no spoilers here!). The pure wit and joy I experienced by the artist's inclusion of a (purely tongue-in-cheek, I assume) disclaimer that this artistic work is only intended "for negotiation and settlement purposes" is difficult to communicate, but suffice it to say that by the third or fourth paragraph I was dabbing tears of pure joy from my cheeks with a handkerchief. Kudos!
The backstory that followed was a bit dry for my taste, but it was over quickly and followed by a riveting bulletpointed list of accusations that had me on the edge of my seat.
My friends, I do not want to spoil any of the chills and surprises that await, but do not pass up on your chance to experience this instant classic-- that is, before it's followed by the inevitable movie version.